From Fresno With Love
by PerditusFic
Summary: After the discovery in 2213, Ava needs to have a talk with her "parents". Post Breakup/Pre Makeup Avalance


**My motivation is lacking lately.**

 **Just something to pass the time.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

With Mallus gone there was less on her mind. Less distraction from the thing everyone wished to forget. No one more than Ava though. But despite her resistance to feeling, Sara didn't take things easy either - especially not this.

Every time she thought about how much her feelings for Ava hadn't changed she remembers that she picked the absolute worse time to end their relationship. If something as devastating as that happened to her she had her parents and her friends …the legends were family as well.

Ava had …Gary?

Sara grimaced and shook her head, pouring another few fingers of whiskey. She should've invited Mick, he was a decent drinking buddy and typically a good distraction from emotional stuff.

She lifted the glass to her lips and took a long, contemplative drink.

She wasn't even sure if Ava confronted Rip. If his recent absence lately was anything to go by, maybe Ava had him fired and arrested – she was the Director.

"Gideon …" Sara sat the tumbler down and turned it in her fingers.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Call Av- Director Sharpe …please."

"Of course, Captain Lance."

It was a long shot. Every time she reached out, she was met with silence. Absence. So, after a minute, the sting of disappointment didn't hurt as much as it did when she first started her daily attempts to check with the director. As much as she really did want to offer some kind of support, she also missed her. That's what the whiskey was for – at least that's what Mick said when he offered her the unopened bottle.

"Would you like to leave a message?" Gideon asked, as she always did.

"No."

Sara finished the last drink in her glass and left to retire to her cabin. She hated the feelings she was having. Feelings in general weren't her favorite thing, except for the way she felt when she was with Ava. Happy. Maybe even in love. On top of those feelings, she felt safe. Ava brought her back from what the Death totem had invoked in her.

She was nearly to the door of her quarters when her reverie was broken by a familiar sound. Sara closed her eyes, thinking of Ava. Her perfume was always just the right intensity that you never got tired of it. Just a little bit more intoxicating, alluring every encounter. Not everyone had her ability to sense people's presence around them, but Ava Sharpe's presence was soothing even when she was pissed, hot on your heels and ready to arrest – or punch – someone. Soothing, safe.

Opening her eyes, Sara turned around and tried not to look happy to see her.

"Ava, what are you doing here?" Sara asked. "I'm not good with time but I'm sure you're up passed Gary's bedtime."

"Please don't talk about Gary," Ava said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Driving you insane?" Sara folded her arms across her chest and took a few steps toward the director.

"No more than usual. And you would be wrong …" Sara frowned watching, Ava check her watch. "It's 10. Gary's bedtime is 11."

"Ah. My mistake."

"Jokes aside, I'm here to …ask a favor, Miss Lance."

"I'll do anything you want if you call me Sara …because that's my name."

" _Sara_. I'm going to see my …parents. I need to have a talk with them."

"You need me there? For moral support?"

Ava averted her eyes, as if she were asking something to be ashamed of. It wasn't a strange request, not when obviously Ava didn't have normal friend who didn't know about her job. Sara didn't want to think about it because if she couldn't be there for Ava then no one would be.

Sara walked forward until she was breathing Ava's air, intoxicated again by her scent. Hesitantly, she reached out and settled for a firm hand on her arm. And then she dared to touch her like they were still the Sara and Ava before the Death totem and 2213. Girlfriends. Ava shied away from her hand at first but eventually let her palm rest against her cheek.

"I know there's too much going on for you. Between my stupid mistake and the clone situation, you need someone to be there for you. I know I threw away my chance but I can be whatever you need."

"Moral support would be nice."

"Then that's what I'll do."

The moment was lost.

Sara let her hands fall away as Ava stepped back, putting her Director mask back on. Her hands were tucked behind her and her back was ramrod straight again. She nodded.

"Right. Well, I'll be here first thing in the morning."

Instead of trying to stop her – knowing it was useless to try – Sara just watched her go.

Seeing her, at least, helped. But she wouldn't be sleeping much.

* * *

Sara yawned into her hand, unsuccessfully hiding her sleepless night from the woman standing behind her. "We should've stopped for coffee," she said, walking up the pathway to the front door. Ava hadn't said much of anything since she arrived on the Waverider. "Or alcohol."

She looked back at Ava, still silent and emotionless. "Are you okay to do this?" Sara asked, lowering her hand away from the door.

"No. But that doesn't matter."

"It does," Sara said. She took a step away from the door and turned to Ava. "This is about you, Ava. You don't have to do this for anyone but yourself and you only need to do that whenever you're ready."

"I want to get this over with if you don't mind, Miss Lance," Ava said.

"We're back to that again?"

If Ava was going to answer, she didn't get the chance. The front door to the house she'd thought was her childhood home opened and her father – or not her father – was just stepping out. He froze at the sight of Sara, stepping back in surrender, remembering the first and last time he'd met her. Ava standing just behind her didn't even occur to him.

"Jensen," Sara greeted.

And then Mrs. Sharpe stepped out hoping to catch him before he left. She froze as well. Sara turned around and smiled at them in a way that was threatening enough to make them run if they thought they could get away from her.

"Hello, Mr. & Mrs. Sharpe," Sara said. That's when both sets of eyes went to Ava's stoic form behind the woman. "Found your daughter."

"Ava …honey. You're here?" Mrs. Sharpe, Miranda, looked surprised to see Ava. Not unhappy to see her though. She pushed passed him and engulfed Ava in a hug. Sara was sure a piece of her heart broke watching as Ava's eyes gained a little light for just a second before fading away. Ava lifted her hands as if to hug her back but quickly refrained. Sara narrowed her eyes at how genuine they both seemed as opposed to the last time she'd been here.

Miranda pulled away and leaned back to look at Ava and she frowned, "Is something wrong? You're thin."

"I'm fine," Ava said. Her tone was even, still nothing betraying how she must have really felt.

Miranda's frown didn't fully go away though. She turned to Sara looking nervous for only a moment before smiling, "And you brought your _friend_? Sara, isn't it?" She reached out and smacked her husband on the arm and said, "Jenson don't leave them standing out here. It's freezing."

"Of course, of course." He stepped aside and let them get by. He gave a tight smile to Sara and kissed Ava's temple, not noticing how she stiffened at the gesture.

Sara walked inside the house it was all exactly as she'd remember. Nothing out of place. No pictures gone. None replaced. The door closed behind her and Miranda hurried passed her toward the kitchen. Jenson ushered them to the living room.

"Make yourself comfortable, Sara," he said gesturing to the couch.

"I'm good here." Sara glanced around and noticed that nothing was as spotless as it seemed when she, Ray, and Gary came by. The couch was a bit wrinkled from someone laying down for an extended period of time.

Miranda came back handed Ava a glass. "Would you like anything to drink, Sara?" She asked.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you."

Ava put the glass down and took a seat on the couch, struggling to come out with what she wanted to say. Anyone would be stumped on how to start a conversation like this. Miranda slowly took a seat on the opposite couch next to Jenson with a concerned expression.

"Ava, are you sure you're all right?" she asked, worriedly glancing at Sara.

"We need to have a little talk with the both of you," Sara said, folding her arms over her chest.

They both looked at Ava, slightly alarmed.

"Talk about what?"

"Ava knows …" She walked forward leaning against the arm of the couch. "She knows I was here. She knows _why_ I was here. So the truth."

"Ava, honey …" Miranda halted at Ava's raised hand.

"I would really appreciate it if we dropped the act now. It's done enough damage. I came here for answers." Ava inhaled deeply and looked her "parents" in the eyes. "I want to know everything. How did this start? Why did you keep doing it? …why would you do this to anyone?"

"Sweetheart-"

"Did you even question it? Or did you just go along with it for the money?"

"Never for money," Miranda started. "Mr. Hunter had come to us a few years ago and said based on some algorithm we were the best match. Then he left. It was hard to forget something like that."

"I always thought that was the point," Jenson said.

"What do you mean?" Sara questioned.

"Well, Mr. Hunter was a strange man." Sara and Ava rolled their eyes knowingly. "A few days later he brought you to us and then explained that we were best suited to be what you needed. And that you were the what the world needed."

"I didn't understand at first but you were important," Miranda said, "Just before that day we found out that we couldn't have children. The first six months you never even stopped by but then you did and-"

"And what? You expect me to believe that you bonded with me?" Ava asked.

"Yes," Miranda stood up from the couch and rounded the coffee table. She sat down beside Ava and tried to take her hand. Ava snatched away from her. "You were new to this world. To us. It was like meeting your child for the first time. Our daughter. We did everything as a family. You are who you are because of the time you spent with us making memories. And we made memories too. Beautiful memories."

"None of it real. I'm not real." Sara stayed in her place despite wanting to rush over to Ava's side at the sight of tears building in her eyes. Miranda took Ava's hands, relieved she didn't pull away.

"Maybe six years ago it wasn't real but the past six years have been. Everything. Every Christmas and birthday."

As she spoke, tears fell down Ava's face. Finally, after too long she's showed an emotion that wasn't angry or indifferent. Ava choked back a sob and Miranda pulled her into a hug, Jenson shooting up from the couch with tears in his own eyes.

In that moment Sara felt – despite the lies – she was intruding on a private moment.

"Every memory Rip gave to you, I learned and repeated over and over until the point it hurt that I was never really there. I wished for them to be as real as all these memories with you the past few years. I want to remember the sight of my daughter's first steps and her first words."

"I'm not your daughter. I'm not real."

"You're real. You're our daughter," Jenson said, kneeling down in front of her. "Don't ever say that again, Ava Sharpe. We spent a year with a wonderful woman who we got to call our daughter and I didn't take a dime from Rip Hunter. You pay people to keep up facades and there was no façade to keep. No one needed to pay us to love you."

He moved forward and pulled her into a hug the moment Miranda pulled away to wipe her eyes. Ava accepted the embrace, holding on tight to him with trembling hands.

Sara swiped at the tears running down her face and made her way out of the room as quietly and quickly as she could. Ava was beginning the process of forgiving them. Healing some part of herself in this confrontation and Sara didn't need to be there for it. It was a family thing.

She escaped out of the house all together and wiped her face clean of any stray tears. None of that was what she was expecting. She was expecting maybe an opportunity to punch one of them because she expected they were soulless assholes who pretended to love Ava for money. Although they weren't really the same people they appeared to be.

They had more depth and personality. She'd spent a lot of that time listening to what they were saying as well as looking around a little more without an eye of skepticism or bitterness from the breakup. The childhood photos were fake but before she had been too upset to look at anything else. But there were other photos. Real ones of a real family.

So maybe if she couldn't be there for Ava, Gary wasn't her only hope.

Maybe all wasn't lost then.

It certainly made her feel better about discovering Ava's past. She wouldn't go through it alone. And that was good, of course. But, selfishly, Sara didn't think there would be a space for her in Ava's life other than a Legend, Captain of the Waverider. The more she thought about that the more she regretted being so scared of hurting Ava. Because she did hurt Ava anyway.

"Stupid," she muttered to herself.

The front door of the house opened behind her and then closed back before she could turn around. Ava descended the two steps and met her in the middle of the walkway. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy from crying but she looked better than she had when they arrived.

"Hey." Sara supplied a weak smile in return. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You left."

"It kind of felt like I was intruding. Just, uh, toss me a portal back to the Waverider. I still need that coffee."

"I need to get back to Bureau anyway." Ava started to open a portal when Sara touched her arm.

"No. Ava, you need to be here talking to your parents. They lied about a lot of shit."

"I have time to talk to them but the truth is all I wanted today. Dealing with it is another day. I told them that."

"You don't have to leave because of me. This is about you and what you need."

"I think I can handle it, Miss Lance," Ava said, opening the portal. On the other side was the Waverider.

"Of course," Sara said and started to walk through the portal until a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Sara …" Her expression was softer. "Thank you for coming."

"Anytime." Sara glanced back to the Waverider and then to Ava. "You know, if you wanted to talk maybe you could …if you want to come by sometime or whenever. Maybe have a drink or something."

Ava nodded. Sara was unsure if that was her acknowledgement of what she said or an agreement to come by but she wouldn't ask for clarification because missing her wasn't more important than her working through everything going on in her life first.

"I miss you, too, you know ..."

"I didn't say-"

"You didn't have to. I know you, Sara."

"Then you know how sorry I am? How much I regret giving into my fears?" Ava nodded much to Sara's relief. "I was - I still am - so worried about hurting you and I went and screwed up anyway."

"I'm not ready. I don't know when or if I will be but-"

"I'll wait. I meant what I said, I'd never been happier than I was when I was with you. Nothing has changed for me, Ava," Sara said stepping back towards the portal.

"Thank you. For ...everything."

"Anything for you." Sara managed a light smile fairly easily. "I'll see you around, Director."

"Hopefully sooner than you think, Captain Lance."


End file.
